OCI Card in lieu of PIO Card

OCI Card in lieu of PIO Card

As per the new scheme, under section 7A (1)(d) of Citizenship (Amendment) Ordnance 2015, spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI card holder registered under section 7A is eligible to apply for a OCI Card.

For details of eligibility and other conditions please refer to the following link:

Further, as per new regulation, with effect from January 09, 2015, all existing PIO card holders are deemed to be OCI card holders. For an initial period of three months, no separate authentication of the existing PIO card as OCI card is therefore necessary.However, with effect from April 09, 2015, it is mandatory that all PIO card holders, have to apply for OCI cards in lieu of PIO cards free of cost only at the online link: http://passport.gov.in/oci/